67 Countries the U.S. Is Obliged to Go to War For

The United States has entered a lot of treaties over the years, especially after the complicated network put in place after World War II. The Myth of Entangling Alliances by Michael Beckley sought to figure out a hard number for just how many countries the United States has agreed to defend in war. Thanks to NATO, ANZUS, OAS, and bilateral agreements, the U.S. has promised 67 countries protection. Here's a look at the list included in Beckley's paper:

As you can see, our pact with New Zealand has ended, but we still have a lot of other countries to worry about.

The Afternoon Map is a semi-regular feature in which we post maps and infographics. In the afternoon. Semi-regularly. This one was made by mental_floss' designer, Chloe Effron.

Pun enthusiasts will recall that we've covered Chris Durso's Foodnited States of America before. Now the project, which was inspired by Durso's young son, is available in map form in the Foodiggity store.

The holiday season is all about unity, but few topics are more divisive than which Christmas movie is the ultimate seasonal film. For every Home Alone fan, there’s an Elfenthusiast. To settle the score, the folks at online TV service provider CableTV.com have collected the top-rated yuletide films as rated over at AMC, and cross-referenced them with Google Trends state data from the past 10 years. They crunched the data, and compiled it into a map of each state’s favorite holiday flick.

Residents of Connecticut, Illinois, New York, and Vermont liked films set in their home states: Christmas in Connecticut, Home Alone (filmed in Winnetka, Illinois), It’s a Wonderful Life (set in the fictional city of Bedford Falls, New York), and White Christmas (set in the fictional town of Pine Tree, Vermont) all came out on top in those states, respectively.

As for Southern residents, they preferred Christmas cartoons and comedies, like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In New England, movie fans kept it cozy with the classics, including White Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street. Pockets of the Midwest appreciated National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and residents of the Atlantic Seaboard and the Great Lakes region liked Home Alone and Elf. And out West, the Nightmare Before Christmas reigned supreme.

Check out the full results in the map above.

The Afternoon Map is a semi-regular feature in which we post maps and infographics. In the afternoon. Semi-regularly.